reciever/amp volume level

[BARK]

question, If you add a three/five channel amp to a 7.1 system how will the different watts per channel affect the balance of the sound? I'm useing paradigm studio 100's for front and rear channels adp-470 for surrounds and a cc-570 for center driven buy a yammy 4600 sounds great but I may be pushing it a little hard. My wallet is running dry after purchasing this system(have been saving up for quiet a while) just wondering if i could get buy with a 3/5 channel and how it affects system balance.

 

[Nick250]

question, If you add a three/five channel amp to a 7.1 system how will the different watts per channel affect the balance of the sound? I'm useing paradigm studio 100's for front and rear channels adp-470 for surrounds and a cc-570 for center driven buy a yammy 4600 sounds great but I may be pushing it a little hard. My wallet is running dry after purchasing this system(have been saving up for quiet a while) just wondering if i could get buy with a 3/5 channel and how it affects system balance.

I would suggest you live with your system for a while before adding addtional amps. It's unlikely they would improve the sound beyond the placebo effect IMO anyway. It's also along the path of upgradittes where "if I just get this one more gizzmo, then I would finally be happy and my system would reach it's full potenial." Of course that one more gizzmo is never enough. Room teatments and making sure your system is properly dialed in is the place to make changes that can have a noticeable inprovement in sound.

 

[newfmp3]

how big is your room?
What kind of music/material do you listen to?
What makes you think you need a bigger amp?

Is it getting hot?

Nice system btw.

 

[jcPanny]

If you have a good relationship with a local dealer, you might be able to borrow a 2 or 3 channel amp to demo in your system.
Your yamaha can deliver a lot of power, even into 4 ohm speakers, so you probably wont be able to hear the difference.

 

[j_garcia]

The imbalance in power doesn't make a difference at all. You calibrate your levels and adjust for the difference in power accordingly. IMO, a 570 and 100s is already a lot for just about any receiver.

The questions NEWFMP3 asked are good ones that will help someone help you decide, and borrowing a 2ch amp is also a pretty good idea too.

 

[9f9c7z]

Maybe I have this all wrong?!? I thought a lot of the watts of an amp were like overhead, extra room that you will never use unless a transient comes thru that requires it. So if you are using 50-watts of a 100-watt amp, adding a 1000-watt amp won’t necessarily increase the volume, you’re still using 50-watts.

I’m told by an audio junky that since I do most of my listening at lower volume levels (around –40db from THX reference) the amp’s only using around 3-watts of the 225-watt potentially available. But if I double the volume it takes more than double the watts.

Is any of that correct?

 

[BARK]

how big is your room?
What kind of music/material do you listen to?
What makes you think you need a bigger amp?

Is it getting hot?

Nice system btw.

My room will be 17+17(under construction now)
music=all kinds, but a lot of older rock.
HT/music 50/50
dvd audio lacks the same clarity as 2 channal

thanks for all the responses, it may be room acostics. the room i'm in now is less than ideal, full of stuff from the construction. waiting until i'm in my new room is a good idea (must seek help for upgradeitis). room treatments I'm hopeing to do myself when the rooms done. Dont know any of the local dealers well enough for the demo Idea, but thats somthing I can work on

 

[MDS]

I’m told by an audio junky that since I do most of my listening at lower volume levels (around –40db from THX reference) the amp’s only using around 3-watts of the 225-watt potentially available. But if I double the volume it takes more than double the watts.

Is any of that correct?

Yes, its all correct. The transients are what require the reserve power and that is where having a higher powered amp is useful, but still only if you actually like to listen at higher volumes.

You also need to consider other factors like the size of your room and the sensitivity of your speakers. Highly sensitive speakers take less power to achieve a louder output SPL level than lower sensitivity speakers. That's because of the doubling of power you alluded to - it takes a doubling of power to raise the SPL by roughly 3 dB (10*LOG(100/50) = 3.01 dB). So if you were to use 87 dB speakers with a 100 watt amp and can achieve reference level in your room, you could do the same with a 50 watt amp if you were to use 90 dB sensitivity speakers. Still the 100 watt amp may be a better choice to accurately handle the transients that will demand much more power.

 

[j_garcia]

Square rooms are generally not good for acoustics, particularly for bass. I'd look into some treatments as well, and hopefully, it will be carpeted.

 

[newfmp3]

what's on your floors now?

you might be losing a lot of volume with a half constructed room. Sound just bouncing all over the place. Carpet is your best friend for good sound.

You never mentioned though, is the amp getting really warm after a while?

Another thing is to compare the amp after listening to it for a few hours, and then another night, let the amp sit on with nothing going on for a few hours. And compare.

If you can start cooking breakfast on it....yeah, might want to get an amp. If it's just warm, forget it, and enjoy.

some amps just get warm. My carvers get warm just by being on. Actually get warmer then my nad at a decent volume for a while. But, my carvers can blow the nad away.

 

[BARK]

Square rooms are generally not good for acoustics, particularly for bass. I'd look into some treatments as well, and hopefully, it will be carpeted.

yea square rooms do suck but thats what was left for me to work with after the master bedroom/bath/walk in closet/utility room for the wife, but I did get the speakers/reciever/50 inch dlp with a little left for room treatment/amp? and one happy wife by the way it will be carpeted and I'm already looking for some 703 for panels and a couple book shelves. must make the room freindly for that servo-15 It may be a challange but it will be fun playing around and learning!!!!!

 

[9f9c7z]

Yes, its all correct. The transients are what require ...

Thanks, MDS!!!